Try It Again

Danny should have done a lot of things…

DL

Rated for mild language.

"Say something."

"Oh." Danny Messer, for once in his life, was at a loss of what to say. He should have figured it out. He should have known what was going on, put the pieces together. He should have kissed her and told her everything would be ok. A moment of awkward silence passed between them as she waited for him to speak.

"Well, if that's it, then I'm going to make tea." Lindsay very calmly, and almost casually lifted herself up from the couch, and disappeared into the kitchen, out of his line of sight.

He fucked this whole thing up. And now he was sitting in her living room, in the dark, by himself. He should have told her that he was really happy, because, he really actually was. He should have cuddled up with her, and held her tightly, and asked her to marry him. Instead, he froze. He was that asshole that he never ever wanted to be. The apartment was silent, and he found himself growing uncomfortable with the lack of noise. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. Barely audible, from the kitchen a ways away, he heard a single sniff. Nice work, Detective, you made your girlfriend cry. When he didn't hear anything else, he made his way to the doorjamb, leaning on it cautiously before entering the tiny kitchen.

Lindsay had put the kettle on the burner, and, with shaking hands, reached up and retrieved a mug from the cabinet, setting it down on the counter before gripping the countertop to steady herself.

"Lindsay-"

"It's ok. I understand."

"No, Lindsay, let me explain." He came up behind her, wrapping her in an embrace, but she winced, and pulled herself from him, pushing him away with a hand. He gently pulled her against him, despite her half-hearted efforts to keep him at a distance.

"Stop, Danny." There was no fighting his grasp, however, and she knew, even though she was strong, and had the same physical training as him, he would win if she tried to get away.

"Talk to me."

"I already said everything I wanted to tell you. I'm done."

"I'm sorry, Linds."

"For what? That I'm pregnant or that you are less than thrilled about it?" She turned in his arms to face him, and arched an eyebrow at him expectantly. "What do I say to that, Danny? Where do we go now?" Danny bit his lip, thinking for a second. He was definitely an asshole. He ran his fingers along the skin of her side that his hand was holding tightly. She frowned, but didn't pull away as he released his grip on her, and let his fingers find their way to her abdomen. He flicked open the button of her jeans, without taking his eyes from hers. She shot him a weary look, but didn't reach out to stop his hand. He leaned over, kissing the underside of her jaw as she turned away from him. He ran his finger above the elastic of her panties, and she closed her eyes, feeling his feather light touch tickle the skin between her hips. He watched her, her eyes squeezed shut, and tears were forced out of her lashes, dropping onto her cheeks, leaning against the countertop.

"I still hate you right now."

"I know." He sighed, coming to terms with her anger at him. He brought his finger up to her navel, and traced it to her panties, in a straight line. He brought his finger back to its starting point, tracing down to her panties again, and then over towards him. Next, he traced a circle, then a 'V,' followed by an 'E.' His index finger traced numerous other shapes onto her stomach, and she opened an eye to watch him as she recognized the letters being spelled out on her skin. 'I love our baby.' He finished the 'Y,' and bent to her abdomen, pressing to her a gentile kiss. His scruffy five o'clock shadow scraped softly against her skin, and she let her lip turn to a small smile.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, and she nodded at his apology, as he wrapped his arms around her, and touched his forehead to hers. "Oh, Linds." He held her tightly as she wiped her last tear on his shirt. "We never do things the fairytale way, huh?" He relaxed a bit, relieved when he felt her chuckle against him.

"No, definitely not." He released her, and she leaned back, and he leaned his hands against the counter, bending slightly to almost touch his nose to hers.

"Try it again."

"Try what again?"

"Tell me again, I promise I won't fuck it up." He grinned at her, and she sighed, letting a smile spread across her features.

"You promise?" He nodded, biting his lip.

"Ok." She reached up, and laid a palm on the side of his face, pulling him toward her. She pressed a feather light kiss to his lips, and pulled back quickly. "Are you sure?"

"Lay it on me, Montana."

"We're, umm. We're going to have a baby." She smiled at him, and he kissed her immediately, pulling her hips flush with his with both arms, leaning into her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to keep from falling over, and pulled his lips to hers.

"Let's get married." Danny breathed against Lindsay's lips. She pulled away abruptly, not fazed by the shrieking whistle of the kettle. He reached beyond her, taking the kettle from the burner, and then flicking the burner off.

"Did you just-"

"What, we gotta repeat everything tonight?" He grinned charmingly at her, and opened the drawer at her hip, taking his eyes off her for only a second, before returning her gaze, and holding out a tiny diamond ring on a slim gold band. When she didn't move, he cocked an eyebrow at her, and turned the ring over in his hand, examining it like a piece of evidence. "Marry me."

A/N:

I'm a huge Sara/Greg shipper, still getting acquainted with New York and Miami… Definitely evolving into a Danny/Lindsay shipper as well, I feel. Just a short little diddy to try it out… more to come. I kinda like it. Still getting a feel for the characters.